"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."-- Douglas Adams

Monday, September 03, 2018

The Equalizer 2 (2018)

I’m not really certain what to make of Equalizer 2. It seems like some effort was put into writing it, but I still have issues with it. When the first movie ended, I though that the sequel would be along the same lines. Not necessarily a remake of the first, but at least McCall helping someone. In fact, the trailers alluded to this. We had McCall talking to someone on a train to retrieve a girl abducted by her father. However, once the girl is returned, this is the end of the character’s involvement in the movie.

The main story is McCall’s friend, Susan, having to investigate the apparent suicide of a CIA operative overseas. It doesn’t go well, leading McCall to risk exposing that his death was faked. It’s difficult to go into a lot of details for two reasons. One, I would have to unnecessarily give away spoilers. Two, I’m not entirely certain where the plot was going. It seemed like it was setting up the final fight, yet there really wasn’t a three-act structure.

Add to this several other elements like the girl. While McCall is working as a Lyft driver, he comes across a woman who he realizes had been sexually assaulted. He drops her off at a hospital before dealing with the men she was with. Again, this is only one five-minute stretch of the movie. Then, there’s a Holocaust survivor who’s trying to prove that a picture was his. I’m not sure what purpose this has other than to fill in the movie.

The movie wasn’t boring, but it was different. I spent most of the movie waiting for the action to start. Once I realized that it wasn’t going to happen, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It might be that this is serving as a bridge to a third movie. I’d like to rent the TV series that this is based on. That might at least shed some light on things. I remember the TV series being about a man who helped those that couldn’t be helped through traditional channels. Even after a few days, I’m still sorting through it. I’m waiting for that moment where it all makes sense, but I expect that won’t happen, either.